Back in the saddle again

I recently tried my hand at podcasting again. For those that aren't aware, I was a podcaster for two years with Fist Full of Comics & Games. I thought I was done with podcasting and then I started listening to the Games in Libraries podcast. This is a podcast is targeted at librarians to aid them in developing gaming programs in their facilities.

I really liked this podcast and went back to the beginning and listened to all the episodes. As I listened I noticed something: no content for RPGs. They did a lot of talking about video games, some of boardgames, but nothing really for tabletop RPGs.

So I contacted Scott Nicholson, professor at Syracuse University and host of the show, and asked if I could contribute some content. Here is the result of that conversation: http://www.gamesinlibraries.org/?p=155.

My segment is about 10 minutes long and focuses on introducing librarians to the rich world of RPGs. I have a lot of ground to cover and a limited amount of time. If you are interested in listening to an introductory course on RPGs then please give it a spin. As always, comments and feedback are welcome.

For further listening on getting started with RPGs please check out two excellent podcasts: Square One and The Basics of the Game.

Follow Your Bliss,

JJ

Hey, you got your story in my game!

I have been inspired by a recent Canon Puncture podcast (recent being a relative term, since I just plowed through over a year's worth of shows in several weeks' time) talking about items to loot from independent RPGs to bring into traditional RPGs. The particular loot I decided to work with was player narration of successes, borrowed from InSpectres. With the players' approval we added this concept to our last gaming session using Basic D&D.

Here is how it worked: Players would make their combat rolls as normal. If it was a successful attack they indicated the damage done. I would let them know if this was a fatal strike or not. The play would then narrate a short description of the successful strike within the parameters stated. If they failed their roll I would indicate why they missed their target. The same also was applied when the monsters attacked the PCs. If the monster hit, I would describe the attack; if the monster missed the player whose character was being attacked described how they avoided the blow.

This led to colorful descriptions and everyone getting into the fun. The orcs they battled seem to be more fearsome and the characters more heroic as a result. The players all contributed to the description. The orcs took on more three-dimentional and individualized aspects - they weren't just a bunch of orcs the party had to hack their way through, they were worthy foes. One of the descriptions also earned a player a +2 circumstantial bonus on his next attack when he described with such color why the orc missed him.

Another wonderful scene in the combat was when a player described his fatal attack as knocking back the dying orc from the force of the attack. I picked up the ball and ran with it to effect the way the orcs reacted on their movement by holding the action of one orc, keeping him from rushing forward to fill a void in the ranks, as he held his dying comrade in his arms. The next round the grieving orc charged forward with blood in his eyes (the orcs passed their second moral check).

The descriptions did slow combat down a bit. We were only able to get through the major encounter with the orcs and do some retracing of their footsteps in the current dungeon, but no one seemed to complain. The battle with the orcs was made more memorable because of the interactive descriptions.

As a side effect, the players started describing some of the aspects of the dungeon they were exploring. This was pulling in another item of loot, namely scene framing and colaborative narration from Primetime Adventures. When one player's character discovered a loose stone and an empty cavity in the wall a different player called out to turn the stone around to see what was hidden in the brick. The adventure called for nothing other than a cavity in the wall filled with treasure, but I decided to take the two potion bottles from the treasure and embed them in the hollow of the brick (much like Ben Franklin's spectacles from National Treasure, from which the player was pulling this image). There was no harm in this, and I would not have kept the treasure from them had they not added this, but this one detail made the experience more vivid in all the players' minds.

I hope this was helpful in illustrating that you can teach an old dog new tricks. Our group enjoyed the experience and I'm sure these story game elements will remain a regular part of our play. Next I'll try introducing some scripted NPC-only scenes to give the players a greater understading of the story behind their adventures. I'll be sure to let you know how that goes.

Follow Your Bliss,

JJ

Update

I made myself a promise to post at least once a week on what was going on in my life and in my head gaming-wise. I'm a little over a week on this one. And while there is no one holding a gun to my head saying, "Write, darn it!" I still feel a bit of a let down. Yes, real life gets in the way sometimes. It has been over a week since I last gamed, but not for want of trying.

My boys and I sat down last Friday evening to play in my oldest son's Eberron campaign. My younger son had already leveled up his characters so I needed to bring my artificer and monk up to second level before play. The monk didn't have a lot of paperwork to deal with, but the artificer was another story. Now that Theo the Red had coin in pouch he wanted to create some scrolls and potions for the party. That took a while as we stepped through the rules to figure out what rolls he needed to make.

It took so long, in fact, that we ran out of time to play. We're planning on doing so this Friday when one of the boys' cousins is coming up for a visit. We're planning on inviting him to join us for the start of the next adventure.

But just because I haven't been playing doesn't mean I haven't been thinking or reading about games. I just finished reading for the first time Don't Rest Your Head by Fred Hicks of Evil Hat Productions. It has been on my stack of games to read for a while now and since my friend & podcaster Mick Bradley is adapting the DRYH mechanics as the engine for his Vegas After Midnight game I thought it was high time to check it out.

I've also been reading Polaris by Ben Lehman. This is a wonderful game about a playing the last days of a forgotten race of the far north as north can go. It is a GM-less game which is a favorite topic of mine and one that I seek to explore though games like Universalis and Shock:.

In addition to reading I've been getting back into listening to podcasts. I have not done so for a long time as I burned out on the medium. I'm rediscovering it and really enjoying what I'm listening to, so I thought I'd share.

What got me started was This Just In...From GenCon! by Ryan Macklin. We listened to this leading up to and while at the convention. This got me excited about podcasts again. So next I hopped over to Ryan's regular podcast Master Plan. This podcast is devoted to game theory and design. Ryan is a game designer and uses examples from his experience to talk about the various concepts. He also has great interviews from industry professionals.

Another design show I've been listening to is Clyde Rohr's Theory From the Closet. Clyde is the punk rocker of RPG podcasts. His show is not work safe and he makes no attempt to edit his recordings, but if you like game theory and game design it is really worth listening too. Clyde also does many interviews with industry luminaries. I really like Ryan and Clyde's podcasts because, like me, they are trying to come to terms with these ideas as they build their games.

Atomic Array and Open Design Podcast are two that I've also gotten into. The first is more focused on RPGs and settings and the second more game design and game tips. Both do interviews, are fun to listen to and offer contests so their listeners can win prizes. If you like these two check out War Pig Radio for more.

Last, but definitely not least, is the Canon Puncture podcast. They too do interviews, talk game theory and practical play tips as well as review geeky websites from around the interweb. Rich, Mick and Chris (and Chris) are long time gamers and have a lot of great insight to share on gaming in an indie-hippy-story-focused-kinda-way. I'm currently working through a back log of this past year's podcasts and enjoying every second of it (and wishing I'd had a chance to play in their Prime Time Adventure Star Wars: Sojourn 66 sessions at GenCon).

As I expand the number of shows I listen to I'll be sure to post here as well. I hope to have a 'meatier' post up soon.

Follow Your Bliss,

JJ